Horse racing already exists in Israel in a very small way,
but there are plans to expand the races to include as many as 2,000
horses and to launch gambling on the races. As experience in England
and the U.S. has shown, when gambling is involved, the welfare of
the horses is sacrificed. The racing industry is built on the
exploitation of animals, and cruelty and abuse are commonplace.

Religious Knesset members in Israel are
opposed to gambling of any kind because Judaism is against the
practice, saying that it causes one person to receive money to the
detriment of another. The lure of huge profits has blinded the
majority, however, who are intent on making it legal. We urgently need to educate
lawmakers, and also the public, about the existing problem of horse abuse in Israel
and how it will be multiplied tenfold if gambling on racing is legalized.